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The fateful meeting between the owner of a tramp star-freighter that flies the Union planets under false papers and fake names and a proud but junior member of a powerful starship-owning family leads to a record-breaking race to Downbelow Station--and a terrifying showdown at a deadly destination off the cosmic charts.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

C. J. Cherryh planned to write since the age of ten. When she was older, she learned to use a type writer while triple-majoring in Classics, Latin and Greek. At 33, she signed over her first three books to DAW and has worked with DAW ever since. She can be found at cherryh.com.

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It's not just the plot, but characters that are composed of layers. Where will the indie named Lucy find cargo? How will Sandor finance it- or will he end behind bars? He needs crewmen, too. At first, the shabby spacer prospects in bars, when he meets someone out of his league. In fact, she might be syndicate. Authorities become suspicious. He flees, but is caught like a fly in a web.A backroom deal is quietly arranged; Sandor has no real choice. My only dissatisfaction with the book is that he terrifies his exec and crew with his paranoia. This psychological study forms the middle of the story. Any other author would have high-lighted the romantic elements, or the actions of adversaries.Unlike Owner's Share (Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper Book 6), this author did not foresee stationnet listings of cargo availability, use of pocket computers to monitor ship's computer or using solar winds like sailing ships of old. Yet the Lucy and her crew get by.Toward the end of the trip, another layer of the plot exposes -again Sandor has no choice. These characters deserve a sequel.

I have read Science Fiction since I was a 'Tween (stopped for a while to study Psychology and Computer Science) and just now (at 50) discovered CJ Cherryh. I had been reading through a list of about 10 books from an internet list on good spaceship themed books, and Merchanter's Luck was on the list. It stopped me in my tracks with it's style. After reading it, I paused my spaceship-centric reading and went back to read all three books leading up to Merchanter's Luck (see Wikipedia page on her work), including Downbelow Station which won several awards. I still like this one best so far. I am now re-reading Merchanters Luck, and I don't know of another time that I have re-read a Science-Fiction book. And I am getting even more out of it on the second reading! There are many different styles of Science Fiction, and this is one that really resonates with me. Early favorites for me included Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, A.E. Van Vogt, and many, many short story authors. Very worth checking out!

Sandor Kreja is in a strange position, sole owner of a spaceship but broke and running out of ways to cheat the system, when he encounters Allison Reilly, crewman of the prosperous Dublin Again, and decides to bet everything on the Dublin's next station stop. Merchanter's Luck is predicated on an infatuation at first sight which is never quite convincing; Sandor's pursuit of Allison feels foolish, and gives the book a slow start. It's also often a novel of reactions, despite Allison's active ambition, due to the timing of point of view switches and the machinations of the plot. But by the end, none of this matters: Cherryh's spaceships are convincing, intimidating places, her technology and politics both thought-provoking, but the story always comes back to the characters and, here, to themes of loss, uneasy new relationships, and defining, creating, and retaining identity. As the book picks up pace, it grows increasingly compelling; I don't love it as much as I love Downbelow Station, but it's entirely satisfying to read.